Orioles Trade Candidates
The Orioles are currently in last place, eight games out in the AL East. The offense has been OK, the pitching lousy. This comes as no surprise; 2009 was viewed as a rebuilding year for Baltimore heading into the season. This is entirely speculative, but let's take a look at possible veteran trade candidates a month or two from now.
- Melvin Mora, 3B - $9MM this year, $8MM club option for '10 with a $1MM buyout. Mora, 37, caught fire in July and August of '08. He has a no-trade clause and has dealt with a hamstring injury this year. Could he help the Reds, if he starts hitting and shows a willingness to accept a trade? Walt Jocketty and Andy MacPhail matched up on the Ryan Freel–Ramon Hernandez deal last winter.
- Ty Wigginton, 3B - $2.5MM this year, $3.5MM in '10. Wiggy has been awful at the plate so far in 106 plate appearances, rendering him immovable.
- Adam Eaton, SP – signed through 2009, Phillies paying most of his salary. Eaton's had one good start this year, against the White Sox. He needs to find his way back to the NL.
- Aubrey Huff, DH/1B – $8MM this year. This year he's looked more like the pre-2008 Huff. Did MacPhail miss his chance last winter to move the entire $8MM?
- Danys Baez, RP – $5.5MM this year. He missed all of '08, but Baez is having a nice year in his first 18 innings. The O's have handled him carefully, as he ranks fourth in their bullpen in Leverage. He appears to be the most likely trade candidate on the team, and the cost shouldn't be much beyond paying his salary.
- Koji Uehara, SP – $5MM this year, $5MM in '10. Uehara has been the team's best pitcher, combining a decent strikeout rate with a tiny walk rate. Is this MacPhail's chance to sell high, despite the risk of making the '09 rotation even worse? Given the hoopla about Uehara being the team's first Japanese-born player, it's unlikely he's dealt a few months into the contract.
- Jamie Walker, RP – $4.5MM this year. Walker's been solid overall this year, but he's surprisingly been rocked by lefties.
- George Sherrill, RP – $2.75MM this year, under team control through 2011. Sherrill is trying to hang on to the team's closer job. He may be best-served back in a lefty-specialist role. He's similar to Guthrie in that he's past 30 but under team control for a while.
- Cesar Izturis, SS – $2.4MM this year, $2.6MM in '10. Izturis probably isn't a trade candidate unless an adequate replacement emerges, perhaps through a separate deal. Robert Andino hasn't gotten much of a look yet.
- Luke Scott, OF – $2.4MM this year, under team control through 2012. Scott's shoulder injury may knock him out for an extended period of time, keeping him off the trade market.
- Mark Hendrickson, SP/RP – $1.5MM this year. He at least takes the ball every fifth day, so the O's may keep him around just to eat up innings. Maybe they'll feel the same way about Eaton.
- Gregg Zaun, C – $1.5MM this year, $2MM club option for '10 with a $500K buyout. The contract could be a nice bargain if Zaun rediscovers his .340 OBP ability. The O's probably prefer he stays on to tutor Matt Wieters when the prospect comes up this summer.
- Jeremy Guthrie, SP – $650K this year, under team control through 2012. The O's are not in a position to trade away pitching, but Guthrie is already 30 years old. 3.5 years of Guthrie could be appealing on the trade market. Maybe he could be cashed in for multiple young players.
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Heyman On Rockies, Wedge, Strasburg
The latest from SI.com's Jon Heyman…
- Heyman says Rockies manager Clint Hurdle "appears to be on the firing line" after the team's 12-18 start. GM Dan O'Dowd called the speculation "unfair at this time," talking to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post. O'Dowd's job seems safe and he could direct a "July tradeoff." Heyman speculates on Garrett Atkins and Huston Street as candidates. Heyman doesn't mention them, but Brad Hawpe and Jason Marquis seem like other possibilities.
- Indians manager Eric Wedge, on the other hand, does not appear likely to be fired.
- Heyman says Stephen Strasburg is still expected to aim for $50MM after the Nationals select him first overall in June.
2010 Options: Texas Rangers
Let's take a look at the 2010 options facing the Rangers.
- Ron Washington – club option. Back on April 20th, GM Jon Daniels said there had been "zero discussions" about firing Washington despite media speculation. Things have changed for the better since then; the 17-14 Rangers are in first place in the AL West. I'll speculate that an over-.500 finish could result in Washington's option being exercised.
- Kevin Millwood – $12MM 2010 salary becomes guaranteed with 180 innings pitched in 2009. Nice timing for Millwood, who is second in baseball right now with 52.3 innings pitched. He needs only 127.6 innings, maybe 20 more starts, for his 2010 salary to become guaranteed. Tom Hicks said in March that he wanted Millwood to reach the innings target. The 34 year-old has been the subject of trade speculation, but it doesn't make sense with the team in contention.
- Vicente Padilla – $12MM club option with a $1.75MM buyout. It's difficult to imagine the Rangers exercising this option. Padilla's level of production can be found more cheaply on the open market.
Indians Still Undecided On Luis Vizcaino
According to Dennis Manoloff of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Indians watched reliever Luis Vizcaino audition yesterday. Their dilemma:
The Indians apparently want to sign him but are debating whether he should be added to the major-league club or go to Class AAA Columbus on a minor-league deal.
Vizcaino is a free agent after having been released by the Cubs. He figures to sign for the Major League minimum. MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince indicated yesterday that Vizcaino will join the team's big league bullpen this today.
Red Sox Call Up Daniel Bard, DFA Lopez
4:39pm: The Boston Herald reports that in order to make room for Bard, the Red Sox have designated Javier Lopez for assignment. Lopez had posted a 9.26 ERA through 11.2 innings this season.
11:19am: Joe McDonald of the Providence Journal reports the Red Sox will call up Daniel Bard in time for tonight's game. Writes McDonald:
McDonald notes the Sox will have to take someone off the 25-man roster and make a move to put Bard on the 40-man.
Nationals Release Gary Glover
Bill Ladson of MLB.com tells us that the Nationals have given right-hander Gary Glover his unconditional release following 10 appearances in which Glover totaled a 6.32 ERA with the Nationals Triple-A affiliate in Syracuse. Glover became replaceable once the Nationals inked Mike MacDougal to a minor league deal last week. MacDougal will join the major league club after a few weeks.
Ladson also cites acting general manager Mike Rizzo in saying that Jorge Sosa will soon be ready to join the Syracuse club on May 22, as his 50-game suspension wraps up. Sosa was suspended last year after testing positive for an amphetamine.
Week In Review: 5/2/09 – 5/8/09
Not the busiest afternoon here on MLBTR, so let's get the Review up a little sooner than usual:
- The latest superstar to be tied to performance enhancing drugs is Manny Ramirez. Ramirez will miss 50 games after testing positive for HCG – a women's fertility drug that can be used to restart natural testosterone production following a steroid cycle. Ramirez claims it was prescribed by a physician and has issued an apology. His suspension will save the Dodgers $2.7MM this year. Can the Dodgers stay in first place without Manny? Despite the big loss, I'd say they should be there when he returns.
- More changes in the NL West – The Diamondbacks fired manager Bob Melvin and replaced him with A.J. Hinch. Melvin's Diamondbacks were off to just a 12-17 start to the 2009 campaign.
- Trades do happen early in the season, and here's proof! The Orioles sent an unhappy Ryan Freel to the Cubs in exchange for Joey Gathright. Freel's versatility should get him more playing time in Chicago than Baltimore.
- The A's and Rays had a swap of their own, as Oakland sent minor leaguer Joe Dillon to Tampa for Adam Kennedy. The A's infield has been decimated by injury, so Kennedy will provide them some depth in a return to the AL West.
- If you're a reliever in Washington, don't get too comfortable The Nationals will make even more changes to their bullpen over the coming weeks in an attempt to come up with a solution to their late-inning woes. Can anyone out there figure out something to help what's been a complete disaster so far in 2009?
- 2010 Option Series updates: Mariners, Athletics, Angels, Twins, and Royals.
Contreras Sent To Minors
2:54pm: Scot Gregor informs us that White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper said on the radio this morning that Contreras will be sent to the Triple-A Charlotte in order to regain his rhythm.
Contreras will have to clear waivers, but has accepted his demotion.
Gregor cites one Major League scout saying:
"I wouldn't say his career is over. His stuff looked fine to me. But you could tell he had no feel at all for his split-finger pitch."
Clayton Richard will replace Contreras in the Chicago rotation, and make the start Wednesday against Cleveland.
9:41am: The White Sox are expected to make a decision on what to do with Jose Contreras, says Chris De Luca of the Chicago Sun Times. Contreras, whose command has faltered, is 0-5 with a 8.19 ERA in six starts.
Contreras had a speedy recovery from a ruptured Achilles this offseason but has begun the season in ugly fashion, walking 16 and allowing 40 hits in 29.2 IP while striking out a mere 17. While strikeouts have not been a large part of Contreras' game since his years with the Yankees, control has. He was pulled from the rotation after Friday's loss to the Rangers.
A decision is expected following a bullpen session with Contreras this morning.
Astros Re-Sign Jason Smith
MLB.com's Alyson Footer writes that the Astros have once again signed Jason Smith, and optioned Jeff Fulchino to Triple-A Round Rock.
Smith was designated for assignment by the Astros earlier this week, cleared waivers, and elected free agency. However, with Lance Berkman ailing, Houston felt that they needed an extra infielder on the roster.
Smith, 31, was hitless in 21 at-bats with the Astros through 17 games this season. Fulchino, 29, had posted a 5.91 ERA through eight relief appearances, totaling 10.2 innings of work.